


Cross my Heart

by AJ Horn (mchoule)



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Albus Severus Potter/OFC - Freeform, First Kiss, M/M, Pining
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-11-09
Updated: 2017-11-09
Packaged: 2019-01-21 07:15:44
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,070
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12452355
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mchoule/pseuds/AJ%20Horn
Summary: It was tradition; every year, Albus and Scorpius would go to school's balls together. Girls never wanted to go with Scorpius, and they all wanted to go with Albus. This way, Albus doesn't have to pick, and Scorpius doesn't stay locked in his dormitory. This year, however, something has changed. Albus' new girlfriend wants them to go together, as couples do, and Scorpius' feelings for Albus, which have been brewing for a while, complicates their friendship further.





	Cross my Heart

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks to my beta, Julienne. You were a big help.

November 24th 2023

Not a lot of people knew what had happened to the Room of Requirement after the war, and Albus Potter himself wasn't sure if his own father knew where it had gone. Teddy had been the one who'd found it during his seventh year. It had moved from its old position to the sixth-floor, east corridor. As far as Albus was concerned, his best friend Scorpius was the only outside of their close family to know about it. Over the years, Albus mostly used the room as a secret studio. He knew if people discovered a Potter was an artist they would want to examine his art. 

The room appeared just the way he'd left it. A large blank canvas lay on an easel, and a group of his latest paintings were piled against one of the walls. The one at the front was a portrait he'd done of Lily flying one of Uncle Charlie's dragons during their summer vacation. Their father had almost had a heart attack. Lily waved at Albus when he approached her, then left for another portrait. 

Grabbing his brushes and paints, he started laying the colours on a dark canvas. At first, he wasn't sure what he was painting, but as large strokes became more focused, his mind filled with moments he'd experienced with Scorpius. Quickly, their first meeting appeared on the canvas. 

Though Albus couldn't recall most of that day, he could see with perfect clarity the look on Scorpius' face as they shared a chocolate frog. Scorpius had been even more terrified to leave his family than Albus, and he remembered how Scorpius had been apprehensive instead of impressed with the Potter name and just how much they'd discovered they had in common.

As he was working, Albus forgot about time and the world around him. This was what freedom felt like to him. Other moments with Scorpius flashed through his mind. He transposed the way his eyes change from a stormy grey to a light blue when he laughed deep from his belly into the painting. 

When he was satisfied, he grabbed his wand from his pocket and enchanted the canvas.

"Pictura vitae."

Silver sparkles of magic reached his piece, soon surrounding the full canvas. Suddenly, the young Scorpius' grey eyes sparkled with life. The chocolate frog jumped from his hand bumping onto the painted Albus' eye and off the open window. 

The small ball made of light blue crystal in his pocket emitted some heat through the fabric, and Albus swore. It was time to go to class. 

>>>>>>>>

Ella Boot cornered Albus Potter as he turned into his class' corridor. She had a bob of black hair that framed her delicate features and was streaked with the same blue of her house uniform. Albus supposed she was pretty, or so he had been told. And ever since they'd been teamed up in a charm assignment, she'd been extra friendly with Albus.

"Allyberry." she said, hanging on him with a large smile and her usual peppy attitude. "A little phoenix told me you still didn’t have a date for the Yule ball."

"Hum." He would have rather not think about the damn ball. 

"As it turns out, I also don't have a date and thought we could go together."

"I already promised Scorpius I'll go with him."

She pouted at him. "I'm sure he'll understand you want a real date this year. Someone fun."

Her comment soured his already waning interest in the conversation. He moved away from her. 

"I happen to enjoy the company of my friends." He had enough people criticizing his friendship with Scorpius since the first year. 

"That's not what I meant."

"I think it is. I've gotta go. Professor Deepcauldron won't be waiting for me." 

She asked him to come back but Albus entered the classroom instead. 

>>>>

Scorpius watched Miss Deepcauldron enter the classroom and make slow steps to her desk which was placed on a pedestal so she’d have a good look on her student’s potions from above. 

As per Scorpius’ estimation, she wouldn’t be happy if Albus didn’t show up for class in the next few seconds. He was about to raise his hand as a distraction when Albus ran into the room, his gold and red tie disheveled, apologizing quickly to Deepcauldron then crashed on the chair next to Scorpius. 

She pinched her lips, but didn’t comment on his almost lateness. Instead, she quickly started the lesson where she had left it the week before. When she was done with her instructions for the potions they were to work on, Scorpius leaned on his friend. 

"You still have some paint on your robe," he whispered to him as he grabbed the bezoar on the table. 

Albus quickly made a cleaning spell, watching over to Miss Deepcauldron who didn't like spells and enchantments around the potions.

As the class was winding down, Albus sighed heavily next to him, prompting Scorpius to ask his friend if anything was wrong. Albus was nothing if not overdramatic. 

“Could she be any clingier?”

Scorpius glanced at the door, where he noticed that Ella Boots, who probably had a free period, was hanging near the classroom’s door. When she saw him look, she waved at Scorpius with a bright fake smile on her face. 

“She likes you.”

He couldn't say the same for himself. There was just something so fake about the girl, every time she spoke to Scorpius, he just wanted her gone. His dislike was there well before she became interested in Albus, but since then, it had grown inside Scorpius. 

Albus rolled his eyes. “I know that. She asked me to the Yule ball.”

Scorpius looked down at his potion; it had an ugly muddy green colour and the foul odour of brimstone that mirrored his own feeling. He forced himself to smile, hoping his disappointment and sarcasm wouldn’t transpire too much.

“Oh. I’m sure you two are going to have a lot of fun.”

Scorpius was already thinking he wouldn't go with Al this year as the last ball had been pretty much torture seeing all of the girls around him all the time. It was worse since James had gotten serious with his girlfriend and didn’t keep some of the attention on himself. 

“What are you talking about? I told her I was already going with you. Pal before gals and all that. I thought she was mad, but I guess she’s over it now.”

It didn’t make Scorpius feel better. Of course, she was okay with it now. She wanted to be Albus' girlfriend so badly he could smell it despite the ten potions around him. He’d known that he couldn’t keep Albus to himself forever and that at some point he’d meet a girl and fall in love. He hoped it wasn’t going to be Boots.

>>>>

 

December 5th 2023

The Triwizard Tournament’s first task had Albus sitting at the edge of his seat in the Quidditch’s stands. He was sitting in between Ella and Scorpius as he watched James’ attempts at approaching the large Runespoor who guarded the winning satchel. Each of the giant three-headed serpent’s jaws were busy with one of the contestants. 

Albus may have had his fair share of problems with his hot-headed, closed-minded brother, but they were still family. And the fact that their father and his Auror friends were patrolling the school didn’t diminish his worries. They obviously expected the worse to happen.

The Runespoor’s middle head came close to biting James’ left arm, leaving his broomstick flying away from the beast. Albus closed his eyes, grabbing the closest hand. When he reopened his eyes, James was approaching the serpent again. Albus only realized his tight grip when Scorpius asked for his hand back and whispered some words of reassurance and brushing his thumb on his hand. 

One of the heads sent the Durmstrang girl flying across the field right into the Beauxbatons girl who almost fell from her broomstick. It allowed James to grab the satchel as the whole school roared at his success. 

Ella yelled next to him, and suddenly she was kissing him, warm lips against his. When she stepped back, sparkles in her brown eyes, Albus turned towards Scorpius so they could share the enthusiasm of the win, only to find that his friend was nowhere to be found. He looked through the crowd, but Ella soon asked for his attention. 

Albus hadn't found Scorpius when Ella paraded him around her friends during the dinner celebration in the Great Hall. The school banners sent sparkles everywhere, while the students chanted. 

When Albus finally did find Scorpius, he was sitting at one of the tables, away from everyone else, looking at his food instead of celebrating. It seems to be a constant attitude from Scor this week, but no amount of coaxing had made Scorpius confess his troubles. If Albus found out someone had picked up bullying Scorpius again, they would regret it. But until Albus figured out what was really wrong, he’d stay on the look-out. 

>>>>

Scorpius forced a smile, but he didn’t think he was very successful in fooling Albus. It wasn’t helped by Ella quickly joining them and wrapping herself around Albus. Soon as he could, he took his leave of the Great Hall and the party within. To his surprise, he found James alone in the Gryffindor common room. 

“I thought you’d be out there celebrating.”

James shrugged. “Some of the journalists were driving me nuts so I took the cowardly way out.”

Scorpius chuckled. James always seems to live for the attention. 

“If you tell anyone I said that, I’ll deny it.”

“I swear. What are you reading?”

Scorpius sat next to him, grabbing a glass of juice the house-elves probably brought earlier. That’s when he noticed the satchel next to the plate of cookies. 

“Some sort of journal. Pretty sure it contains some clue for the next task. I wanted to start reading earlier, but can you believe my father had like tests done on it. Sometimes I’m not sure he ever left the war behind.” He chuckled to himself. "How dangerous can an old dusty journal be?"

“My father’s the same. Always looking for redemption; something like that.”

“I should return the question, what are you doing here instead of the celebration? Aren’t you and my brother usually inseparable?”

“He was busy with Ella.” 

He tried to sound like it was no big deal, but couldn't avoid grinding his teeth at the mention of Ella. Scorpius got worried he’d fail when James answered with a knowledgeable ‘ah’. 

There was a moment of silence while James read a bit more and Scorpius watched the fire. He found himself relaxing on the comfy couch, almost able to forget his unrequited crush on his best friend. 

Scorpius bit into a chocolate chip cookie, when James spoke again.

"I hope you don't think this is us having a thing. I'd be an awful replacement for my brother."

Surprised, Scorpius coughed as the cookie lodged into his throat. James hit his back, apologizing.

"I'm sorry I was just joking. Don't die on me, or Al will kill me."

"I-- what? -um. I'm not… I didn't--"

"I didn't really think you were coming onto me. I don't always think before I speak." 

Scorpius took a big breath to collect himself. "But how did you know, that I, ya know, like Al?" He could feel his skin reddening; it was the first time he’d spoken of his crush out loud, and to James 'Golden Boy' Potter of all people.

"I didn't for sure, but I guess I do now. Does he know?"

"No. And you will not tell him!"

"If you insist." 

At least like this he would always have a friend, even if he was to be lonely his whole life. Scorpius wasn't as successful at hiding his gloominess thinking about it, because suddenly James was tapping his shoulder in something akin to comfort.

"You'll get over my stupid brother eventually; you just need to hang in there. Unrequited crush isn’t something new."

Unconvinced, Scorpius shrugged. 

"Did you know I started dating Kaelyn because I was trying to get over Amanda Stormwater? You probably just need to meet some better-looking bloke."

The idea felt too ridiculous for words. "And where do you propose I do that? I'm already enough of an outcast. "

"It's not like you're the only gay person in Hogwarts."

James seemed so sure about that, almost as if… "Wait, do _you_ know anyone like me?"

"Of course. Two for sure, one maybe. There's probably more too."

"No way? Who?"

"I can't really tell you, but I'll talk to them, see if they want me to connect you to them. If you want."

"That'd be--" Scorpius was at a loss for words. "Great."

At that moment, they heard someone giving the password to the portrait. James rose up and grabbed the satchel. "I'll do that. Better go to my room, before the party starts all over again. Hang in there, okay."

James was going up the stairs when a group of fourth year entered. They were speaking loudly so Scorpius followed James' idea and went to his own room. 

>>>>>

December 19th, 2023

The December Hogsmeade weekend was often the busiest, as students hoped to get some last-minute Christmas shopping done before going home. This year was no exception, even though a lot of people would stay over the holiday for the tournament. 

Scorpius had used gift shopping as an excuse not to go with his friend. It wasn't a complete lie; he did need to buy something for his father and for Albus, but he had an ulterior motive to go alone. 

James had made good on his promise and had connected Scorpius to Kaelyn's best friend and James' old crush Amanda, a seventh year Gryffindor with a muggle girlfriend. Meeting her had been wonderful and she'd promise to introduce him to the others in Hogsmeade. Amanda was going to meet him in The Chosen One Inn and introduce him to them. He was pretty nervous about the idea, almost deciding not to go earlier, until he'd seen Ella hanging on Albus' arm. 

The Chosen One Inn was very Potter like, due to the life-like wax figure of a younger looking Harry Potter in a victory pose that sometimes awakened to wave at patrons.

Five students and three graduates he hadn't seen before were at one of the tables, and they waved at Amanda when they entered. Scorpius was surprised to realize that he had spoken to some of them in the past. 

Scorpius wasn't always good with people; they often judged him on his last name alone, making it hard to make friends, but the group was easy to talk to, and they made him at ease. 

One of the boys, a seventh year Slytherin named Atticus, was extra friendly with him, laughing at Scorpius' jokes and sitting a bit closer to him. Atticus was on the cute side, with long dark hair with red-orange reflection and a deep Scottish accent.

>>>>>>

Albus felt like he'd look through all of Hogsmeade’s shops to find a gift Ella would like, but so far everything he'd seen seemed boring or ordinary. He did find a lot of ideas for Scorpius, even though he'd bought him the complete deluxe collection of Petroline Delamontagne's best fiction works already. 

In the end, knowing he was supposed to meet Ella at Madam Puddifoot's Tea Shop for lunch he bought her a necklace. Hopefully this was going to be satisfactory. Albus was a few minutes late, and Ella was waiting for him looking annoyed.

"I think I found a great dress for the Yule ball," she told him when he arrived at the tea shop "You'll want to wear something dark purple, and I'll want to see the colour before, so that we can co-ordinate." 

"Why?” His plans had always been to wear the same red robe he wore at the last ball. Scor never complained about his colour choices. Now he'd have to go shopping, which was far from his favourite activity. “I’m going with Scorpius anyway" 

As soon as he said it, Albus knew he'd made a mistake as fury flew through her eyes. 

"What do you mean, you're going with _him_."

A Slytherin couple who were going in the tea shop looked at them, curious of the outburst.

"You're acting like you didn't already know. I told you he was my date."

"But that was before we started dating proper. I can't have my boyfriend go with someone else." 

"I can't bail on Scorpius last minute." 

"So, you’d rather bail on _me_ last minute? I can't believe what I am hearing. Fine. You know what, why don't you go by with your little boyfriend instead. I had a special evening planned for us, but why don't you ruin that too!" 

She huffed as she turned her heels and left. 

"Come on!" he yelled at her.

Albus sighted. Why did girls have to be this complicated? It was just one of the numerous balls in a year. He figured he would try to speak to her again once she had calmed down. 

He turned to make his way back to Hogwarts and found a cat sitting at the top of the half wall fence around the tea shop, a black cat that looked quite familiar. If he hadn’t been outside, he would have sworn this was Sir Knucklehead, James’ lazy house cat. 

As he did so, he had to walk past the Chosen One Inn. Albus wasn't much of a fan of the place. It was awfully in your face, and it was so weird to see his father plastered everywhere. So, his father was a war hero and a powerful man; they should just get over it. He usually ignored the Inn, but this time, he noticed Scorpius was in there. He was with four girls and four guys and he was laughing at something Atticus Finnegan of all people said. For some reason, the scene bothered him. 

>>>>>>>>>

Scorpius was laughing at Atticus' joke when Albus came into the Inn. Al went directly to the table, seemingly unaffected by the silence that his arrival had caused. 

Scorpius' new friends also grew silent and kind of almost uncomfortable. Al didn't know he was interrupting a private moment. They hadn't talked about anything Scorpius and Albus wouldn't have talked about, but they all had this common secret and for the first time, Scorpius felt a sense of community around them.

"I think it's time we leave," Atticus said as the others nodded. 

Scorpius was surprised to feel annoyed at Al for interrupting the moment. He wasn't ready to go back to Hogwarts. 

"I'll see you around, and if not, I'll see you at the A Y," Atticus told Scor giving him a manly one-hand hug and lingered a bit longer than usual.

About half way through the meeting, Atticus, backed by the rest of the group had invited Scorpius to a small invitation-only party they were organizing during the Yule ball. It would be only the students’ part of the group, plus a few others who hadn't made it to the meeting today. 

Since Scorpius wasn't going to the ball this year and Albus now dating with Ella, he’d been an automatic yes. He still wasn't sure about Atticus flirtatious friendliness, but there was no need to worry about it just yet. 

"I'll wait for you," Amanda told him.

"The AY?" Albus asked him once they were all gone. 

"Yeah, the Alternate Yule. It's just a small hang out instead of going to the ball."

"Funny. That guy seemed to think you'll be going."

"Because I already said I'd go. I didn't have a date for Yule so why not."

"What are you talking about?"

Scorpius could see that his friend was mad, but wasn't sure what he'd say to upset him. 

"I didn't feel like being the third wheel, that's all."

"But we're always going together. It's tradition!"

And here he was again with the annoyance. Tradition, maybe. But a painful one. 

"The mark was a family tradition. You don't see me walking around with this thing on my arm. Traditions change. You can't tell me you wouldn't rather go with Ella."

"You can't do this to me!"

"Do this to you?" Scorpius realized the patrons were now looking at them, so he lowered his volume to continue. "I'm doing this for me. You certainly don't expect me to just stand in a corner while you have fun with her."

"But... tradition." 

"Argh! You're so unreasonable right now. I can't talk to you when you are like that. Go see Ella, Al, and ask her to the damn ball, because I'm not going. Now if you don't mind, I'll go with my new friends."

Without waiting on Albus, he went out where Amanda was waiting for him. 

"You're okay?" Amanda asked him. 

"I think so. Probably." Scorpius sighed. "I hate this. I hate how I love him." He was barely audible now. "How much it hurts."

She put her arm around his shoulder. "Liking people that'll never like us is a bit of a curse. But there's someone out there for you. You just need to find him." 

She told him about meeting her muggle girlfriend on vacation as they walked back to the castle with their arms locked together. 

>>>>>>>>

Two fights in such a short time had Albus fuming. He crossed paths with his brother on his way to the Shrieking Shack to unwind. Kaelyn was with him, but he said something to her and she left after a smile and a wave to Albus. 

"So, it seems there is trouble in paradise." 

"Don't start with me."

"It hasn't been a good day, eh? First fight can be the worse."

"It's not my first fight with Scorpius." Now he was confused.

"I was more referring to Ella… you know… pretty much telling you she wouldn't have S.E.X. with you." 

"What are you talking about. She never said anything about that."

"Maybe not in so many words. But my source told me she was caught looking up contraception potions a few days ago."

Was she? Albus started wondering. He hadn't really considered sex, but it made sense that it would be one of the next steps. 

"Albus, Albus. You don't need to look so disgusted."

"I'm not."

"You kinda are."

"I just hadn't considered it part of the equation so fast. We've only been together about a month."

"You don’t need to do anything you don’t want to."

"I do. I think. Of course, I do... want her?" 

"Who are you trying to convince? Me or you?”

Sex always seemed like an abstract, but now that the possibility was there, he wasn’t sure of what he wanted.

"Or… maybe you want it with someone who is not Ella."

The proposition made sense, but going through the girls in his classes, no one jumped to mind. Maybe James was right, maybe he was just meant to be alone. 

That way Scorpius would always be the most important person in his life. He liked that idea enough to smile.

"Well I think my job here is done."

Albus raised an eyebrow at his brother, but the latter just disappeared, leaving Albus smiling alone on the hill. 

He turned around, not making it to the Shrieking Shack after all. He needed to find Ella. 

>>>>>

December 22th, 2023

It seemed that every time Albus tried to speak to Scorpius, he was hanging out with someone else. Mostly it was Amanda, though sometimes it was Atticus or someone else from that group. Albus didn't know what to think of them. Most students hung around their own house, but all houses were represented. Albus' research had shown that none of them really hung out in their common room, always disappearing Merlin knew where. They were outsiders, and Albus was afraid it wouldn't help Scorpius in the long run. 

It was a bit after dinner that Albus finally found Scorpius alone in the common room. He looked around, but there was no trace of Amanda. Good. Scorpius was studying, his muggle study book open on the table. Albus sat in front of him as Scorpius was writing down notes on his parchment. 

Albus had planned to apologize, but found it hard to find the words suddenly. Scorpius hadn't even noticed he was there, too absorbed in his work. Muggle Studies was one of those classes that Albus had let go in his sixth year, but not Scorpius as it was his favourite class. Right now, Scorpius was lightly drawing leaves Albus had never seen. 

"Hey."

Scorpius looked up and put down his feather. 

"No Ella today?"

"We broke up." 

"Oh." 

Albus shrugged. "She wasn't right for me. So, if you really want to go to this alternate Yule thing, we could go there instead. I'd like to meet those new friends of yours, you know."

He noticed Scorpius shifting in worry. 

"What?"

"Well, we can't go together."

Albus was both hurt and surprised.

"You need to be invited."

"Then invite me." That shouldn't be that hard. 

"Can't you just let it go?"

Scorpius rose in frustration, leaving his notes on the table as he exited the common room. Albus went after him, grabbing his arm to force Scorpius to look at him. 

"Scor!"

Scorpius moved away from him; he suddenly looked very tired. 

"I need my space, Al. Please just let it go." 

Albus watched helplessly as Scorpius left the common room. Pain cramped deep in his belly as he wondered if he'd just lost everything. A few seconds later, Amanda and Kaelyn came in, and Albus was surprised that Amanda, the dedicated girlfriend, hadn't gone after Scorpius. Instead, she came at Albus with purpose.

"What did you do to him?"

"Nothing! I don't know."

"Well, you _must_ have done something to upset him!"

"I was talking about the ball and he went off on me about space."

She shook her head. "You really have no clue?" She looked surprised. "Just stay away from him until you figure it out."

And just like that she left him at his painful thoughts.

>>>>>>>>>>>>

Scorpius could hear the blood pumping through his veins. Until that moment in the common room, he hadn't realized how painful wanting more of their friendship was. He couldn't stand those four walls suddenly, and barely registered James, Kaelyn and Amanda on his path. He moved between them towards the school exit. 

Despite the large green space, and the refreshing outside air, he still felt trapped. He needed to breathe, yet couldn't. He felt tears filling his eyes, and looked around to reassure himself there were no witnesses, only to find himself face to face with James. 

In the moment, he wasn't sure what would have been worse, but seeing James' friendly face had him feeling braver. He still felt the distress at the bottom of his stomach, but he could finally oxygenate his brain. 

"I can't keep going like that."

James looked more worried than Scorpius felt. "What are you going to do?"

"I don't know yet. But it starts with going to the AY. With or without Al." Scorpius nodded to himself. "I need something to wear, something impressive."

"I know a way into Hogsmeade."

Scorpius raised his eyebrows. "That'd be against the rules."

"So? They're more like guidelines, really."

Scorpius let James walk him to the large Whomping Willow. At Scorpius' surprise, he whipped out a spell and the tree stopped moving. They hurried inside, and after a long walk where Scorpius looked around him in awe, they arrived inside the shrieking shack. 

"How did you know about this path?" 

"Family secret. If I told you, I'd have to kill you." 

They laughed for a bit, before making their way to the clothing store. The lady looked at Scorpius with suspicion, but then noticed James. She smiled wildly.

"Aunt Gabrielle! My friend here needs a robe for the Yule ball."

"Of course, of course. Let me see."

She had a strong French accent, and she looked Scorpius up and down, sometime holding her finger in front of him and muttering to herself. Scorpius' French was pretty rustic so he only got a few words here and there. 

"I don't have the best collection right now, with the ball being tonight."

"I know you always keep a treasure or two in the backroom."

Hidden treasures? That sounded expensive. "I'm not sure I can afford it, James." 

She pinched her lips with an amused expression. "Don't worry about it, honey. I'm sure James will take care of it."

With that, she left for the backroom. 

"She can be annoying, but she's the best." 

"You shouldn't pay for my robe."

"Please, she’ll make me pay it off by working for her, which I would have done anyway." 

Gabrielle came back quickly, holding a long gold metallic robe with pink hues. It was bolder than he had imagined, but after putting it on and looking at James' impressed glance in the mirror, he felt confident enough about it.

"Whoever you are trying to impress won't know what hit them," She told him as she carefully packed the robe into a box.

As they went back to the school, Scorpius felt a mix of excitement and doubt. Was it the right thing to do? 

"It will either be the best night of my life, or the worse." 

"Let's hope for the best!" 

"I don't know how I can thank you for all of this."

"You don't need to. Just remember it when you walk down the aisle with my brother."

Scorpius' smile was sad. "Yeah, in my dreams."

James patted on his shoulder. "Don't be so pessimistic."

"I'm a Malfoy. Optimism isn’t exactly in my DNA."

A bit later, they both went into their respective bedroom. For the moment, he saw no signs of Albus, so he took out the robe. 

>>>>>>>>>>>>

After his fight with Scor and his short conversation with his girlfriend, Albus had been at a loss. As he looked around the common room, he realized that after befriending Scor early in their first year, he'd never really bothered making more friends. Sure, he knew lots of people; he was a Potter after all and this came with a certain undeserved popularity. But real friends had been much sparser. There were always his million cousins, but this just wasn't the same. 

When he didn't find anyone, he left the common room for the Requirement Room. It was exactly the way he left it, the scene from first day of school with Scor glaring at him. He turned the canvas around and got a new one.

At first, he was just putting colour on the fabric, getting all of his anger in there. A lot of bloody reds and blacks and wild shapes. He moved the abstract painting to the side when he was done, and a new blank canvas appeared in the easel. Still angry, his movements were brutal, the lines heavy and dark. As he worked, he recreated the Chosen One Inn, and the group of students, most of his attention on the closeness between Atticus and Scor, remembering Scorpius laughing and touching him. In the end, it left Atticus and Scorpius clear and lifelike around a blurry crowd of lifeless shapes. 

In a sudden fit of anger, he dipped the brush into the black paint and had Atticus disappeared under it. Even though he hadn't enchanted the painting yet, he could practically see the Scorpius of the painting’s disappointment. He let go of the palette and brushes, which crashed on the floor and splashed paint all over Albus. 

He stood there, dirty and confused. When did he start hating Atticus? Their parents were friends with each other, and he'd never done anything to Albus. He even seemed to like Scorpius, which in Al's book meant he was more brilliant than most of the school. Anyone who couldn't see how great Scorpius was a fool. 

But there was just something about the way Atticus touched Scorpius that reminded him of… 

Ella. 

Even before they started dating, she'd acted like everything Albus said was funny or clever. She'd touched him a lot too. He remembered being so uncomfortable about the closeness. 

He closed his eyes, recalling the scene at the Inn. Scorpius hadn't seemed to mind. Had he moved closer to Atticus, or was it Albus' imagination? The more he thought about it, the more it made sense. Atticus looked like one of Delamontagne heroes. Most of the girls he'd spoken to during his investigation had complained of Atticus’ disinterest in them. 

He made his way back to the Gryffindor common room in a daze. Well-dressed students on their way to the Great Hall turned as he walked past them, but no one stopped him. Ella's friend Emerson sent him a dirty glance, and Albus swallowed the bit of guilt he still felt over their break up. She'd been devastated, and Albus couldn't stop himself to think that she was a bit right when she'd told him he'd used her. He never should have dated her in the first place, but his brain had overwritten his heart. 

The common room was pretty empty at this point, with only a few of the younger students hanging around. Amanda sat on the arm of one of the couches. The fire illuminated her blond hair, making it look almost orange. She was well dressed, but her robe didn't have the extravagance of some of the other girls. For once, she didn't bother. 

Before he could get an idea of what to do, Amanda saw him. She rose from the armchair and made her way to Albus. 

"Do you get it, now?"

Doubts faced Albus. "I don't know. Can't you just tell me?"

She narrowed her eyes at him. "I would if I could. Really. But it's for the two of you to figure it out." She sighed. "He's still up there. I'll be here waiting in case you screw up; someone will need to pick up the pieces."

Seeing that the conversation was over, Albus left the common room. Scorpius was on Albus' bed and he looked like he was sleeping. Albus recognized the robe as one of Aunt Gabrielle’s personal collection. They were one of a kind, and pretty much reserved to family. The robe looked so good on him it must have been made with him in mind. When did Aunt Gabrielle move past her dislike for Scor's family, he had no idea. 

Albus didn't think he ever saw Scorpius in any kind of fancy robe like this, and he felt like he was seeing his friend for the first time. The last ray of the evening sun hit part of the robe that reflected its pink color onto his usually pale skin. 

It occurred to Albus how perfect this vision was. Before he could have stopped himself, he'd taken his sketchbook on the nightstand and started a crude drawing of what he was seeing. He'd have to make this a painting for sure. He was almost done with the sketch when Scorpius woke up, and Albus blushed at being caught. 

Scor had this fresh out of bed glare in the eye, and some of his blonde hair stuck to his forehead. It was kind of cute, and without thinking, Albus brushed the hair away, bringing redness to Scorpius' cheeks. It is at this moment, that Sir Knucklehead, James' ridiculously elusive black cat came in between Albus' leg, forcing him down on top of Scorpius. They were face to face, heat radiating from Scorpius' body. Albus knew he should rise, but he found himself unable to. This felt good, and Scorpius wasn't moving either. Albus felt Scor's heart beating against his, and it suddenly occurred to Albus how much he wanted to be here. 

And before he could think about it more thoroughly, Albus brought their lips together. Albus hadn't care much for kissing Ella, but Scorpius' lips felt perfectly soft and warm. The compulsion to deepen the kiss was there, with the knowledge that it would probably be unwelcome. Albus forced himself off his friend. Scorpius' face was red and his eyes darkened.

Albus diverted his eyes, too afraid of what he would see if he looked at his friend. He probably ruined everything, and Scorpius will probably run to Atticus so he could forget he was ever friends with Albus. 

"I guess the cat is out of the bag, now."

The vulnerability in Scorpius' voice forced Albus to look at his friend. 

"Sir Knucklehead was never in a bag." It wasn't quite what Albus wanted to say, but at least it put a smile on Scorpius' face.

"It's muggle. Doesn't matter. I'm sorry I made you uncomfortable. 

"I'm the one who should be sorry. You asked me for space, and I force myself on you. What a shitty friend I make." 

Scorpius made the few steps between them and grabbed Albus' painted hands in his. 

"I didn't want to lose our friendship, so I never said anything, but I've wanted to kiss you forever."

"Really?" 

"It about killed me to see you with Ella."

This bit shouldn't have made Albus so happy, but it kind of did. Scorpius had been jealous, not because Albus had a girlfriend and he didn't; he wanted *to be* the girlfriend. Wait. That didn't sound right. He wanted to be Albus' boyfriend. 

But the question now was whether or not he wanted to be Scorpius' boyfriend. The answer came without hesitation. He pulled Scorpius to him, their body fitting perfectly together, and this time when he kissed him, he deepened it with confidence.

Sir Knucklehead, who'd been watching from under the bed yelped in a not-quite-animal-like way and ran out of the dorm, passing between them. 

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

It didn't take much for Scorpius to convince Albus to join him at the Alternative Yule ball. Part of him wanted to be alone with Albus, to keep him to himself. Another part of him wanted to show off his boyfriend to the world, and in the impossibility of it, showing him off to his group of new friends would have to do. Ella had awful taste of dress for Albus, and Scorpius refused to see the clashing royal purple and emerald green of his eyes. Instead, Albus got to wear his red robe.

Amanda hadn't stayed in the common room, so they had to make their way to the classroom where they were meeting up alone. It was a bit of a torture to be alone with Albus and not being able to act on it, but this didn't feel like the best time to make a scene. 

They could hear some music and chatting ahead of them and Albus found himself relaxing even though technically the party was unsanctioned. But then, inside of the classroom, for a few hours, he'll be free to be completely himself. 

The second they got in, voices stopped to a halt, and even the music lowered down. All eyes turned on them and Scorpius felt Albus tensing next to him. So, Scorpius reached out, locking their fingers together. 

Atticus was the first to congratulate them, hugging Scorpius in a tight embrace, until Albus cleared his throat. Atticus moved back with a smile that said he wasn't sorry, at the same time as Albus got his arm around Scorpius' lower back and brought him a little bit closer. 

Amusement lighted Atticus' eyes and Scorpius had to stop himself from laughing. Instead, he kissed Albus on his cheek. "Come on, you owe me a dance"

As if it was on cue, Amanda flicked her wand and the music grew louder. Scorpius moved to face Albus and got his arms around his neck. He could hardly believe he was here with Albus, he had to pinch his arm as they danced.

>>>>>>>>

The following months passed pretty quickly. Between James' tasks, his father and his Aurors on the premises and the journalists digging around the champions and their family, their getting-together didn't stay secret very long. Especially not after Emerson found them kissing in a dark hallway and babbled at a journalist. Ella had apologized about her friend, but the journalist wouldn't budge, even after Albus had promise something juicy about his father. 

"What could be better than the son of a prominent war Hero and the son of a Death Eater secret relationship?" She'd laughed, shaking her head as she'd left. 

James had advised them to tell the world before the article came about, while Atticus advised them to deny everything. 

"No one, in all the history of Hogwarts has ever admitted to being like us," Atticus said "They'll be all over you and Scor, and not in a good way. Hell, they'll be looking at all of us."

"They'll be looking anyway," James replied. "At least until the next gossip."

"What do you know about this?"

"You don't think I haven't dealt with those people my whole life?"

"Boys, no need to fight," Amanda interrupted while next to her, Kaelyn nodded. "Shouldn't they be the one deciding what is best for their relationship?"

Amanda looked at Scor, who had a subtle shrug. "Dad already knows, and it's not like the world can hate my family more. Al, you're the most impacted, what do you think?"

Albus had been mostly silent during the whole discussion. Despite what Scor was saying about the impact on his life, Al knew their fathers’ pasts were going to hurt him. He pulled Scor to him, kissing him for the first time with people out of their friend group and was kind of relieved to see nothing but support in his brother's eyes. 

"You know who we should really tell about this? Aunt Hermione. I heard she had a way with noisy journalists." 

James shook his head, but hints of mischief shined in his eyes. "Brother, you're such a Slytherin."

Albus looked at Scor, his heart soaring. "I had a good motivation to get to Gryffindor."

He hugged Scor again. "No matter what, it's you and me."

Scor nodded in his neck. 

"Cross my heart." 

The End.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you so much for reading! You can show your appreciation for the author in a comment here or on [livejournal](https://hp-nextgen-fest.livejournal.com/117028.html).


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